The First Day of The Somme

The First Day of The Somme

Dan Explains the first day of The Somme which remains the bloodiest day in the history of the British army; a symbol of the senseless carnage of the First World War. At 7:30 a.m. on July 1 1916, the British soldiers climbed out of their trenches and advanced towards the German lines. They were met with a bombardment of machine gun fire, artillery barrages, and a hail of bullets from the well-entrenched German troops. It was a bloodbath.


It wasn't supposed to happen like that- beforehand, the British had spent several days bombarding the German lines, believing they would destroy their enemy trenches and barbed wire defences, making the British advance straightforward and almost painless. They didn't know just how well-fortified the Germans were in their deep dugouts. When the bombardment stopped, the Germans manned their defences, waiting for the British to walk right into their line of fire.


In chilling detail, Dan retells the astonishing story of that fateful first day of The Somme- determining what really happened in the days leading up to it and what the men endured when they went 'over the top', using the diaries of the men who were there.


Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited and sound designed by Dougal Patmore.


Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.


We'd love to hear from you- what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.


You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(1487)

THE LEADERS: Hirohito

THE LEADERS: Hirohito

Was Hirohito really as passive as history has painted him? Emperor Hirohito stood at the head of Japan’s war machine, yet after 1945, both the Japanese and the Americans painted him as a powerless obs...

24 Mars 202553min

The Rise & Fall of The Moors in Spain

The Rise & Fall of The Moors in Spain

In 711 an Arab and Berber army crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and invaded the Iberian Peninsula. Seven years later, their conquests had birthed the Muslim kingdom of al-Andalus. This marked the begin...

21 Mars 202542min

THE LEADERS: Stalin

THE LEADERS: Stalin

Was WWII actually Stalin's War? He's a man whose name is synonymous with absolute power, the epitome of ruthless ambition, his story is one of both triumph and unspeakable cruelty. A man whose brutali...

19 Mars 20251h 1min

Babylon: The Most Important City of Antiquity

Babylon: The Most Important City of Antiquity

The urban cultures of ancient Mesopotamia formed the foundation for so much of our modern world. Nowhere exemplifies this better than the city of Babylon, which was the cultural seedbed for the Greek ...

17 Mars 202534min

THE LEADERS: Mussolini

THE LEADERS: Mussolini

Once a political heavyweight with dreams of a new Roman Empire, Mussolini's journey from a rebellious socialist youth to the fascist leader of Italy is a story of ego, brutality and ultimately incompe...

14 Mars 20251h 2min

The Origins of Jim Crow

The Origins of Jim Crow

The Jim Crow era is one of the darkest periods in American history. The country was divided by laws, customs and etiquettes that demeaned African Americans and segregated them from white Americans. Bu...

12 Mars 202535min

The Sphinx

The Sphinx

The Great Sphinx of Giza is probably the most recognisable statue in the world but it’s also one of the most mysterious...with conflicting stories about who built it and why have circulated since anci...

10 Mars 202549min

THE LEADERS: Churchill

THE LEADERS: Churchill

Does Churchill deserve the legacy he has? He took the reigns from a foundering Chamberlain and proved himself to be the man the country needed. But of course, he is not a man without controversy or co...

7 Mars 20251h 3min

Populärt inom Historia

motiv
massmordarpodden
historiska-brott
p3-historia
historiepodden-se
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
rss-massmordarpodden
rss-brottsligt
olosta-mord
rss-seriemordarpodden
konspirationsteorier
krigshistoriepodden
podme-bio-4
nu-blir-det-historia
rss-historien-om
militarhistoriepodden
vetenskapsradion-historia
rss-folkets-historia
rss-borgvattnets-hemligheter
harrisons-dramatiska-historia